Certain diseases or conditions may be treated, according to modern medical techniques, by delivering a medication fluid or other substance to the body of a patient, either in a continuous manner or at particular times or time intervals within an overall time period. For example, diabetes is commonly treated by delivering defined amounts of insulin to the patient at appropriate times. Some common modes of providing insulin therapy to a patient include delivery of insulin through manually operated syringes and insulin pens. Other modern systems employ programmable fluid infusion devices (e.g., insulin pumps) to deliver controlled amounts of insulin to a patient.
A fluid infusion device suitable for use as an insulin pump may be realized as an external device or an implantable device, which is surgically implanted into the body of the patient. External fluid infusion devices include devices designed for use in a generally stationary location (for example, in a hospital or clinic bedside environment), and devices configured for ambulatory or portable use (to be carried or worn by a patient). External fluid infusion devices may establish a fluid flow path from a fluid reservoir or cartridge to the patient via, for example, a suitable hollow tubing, needle, or other type of fluid conduit.
A fluid infusion device can be implemented as a simple and disposable product that is designed to be used for one to several days before being replaced. In this regard, fluid infusion patch pump devices are intended to be affixed to the skin of the patient such that medication fluid from a fluid reservoir or cartridge can be delivered directly from the patch pump device to the patient via a delivery needle or cannula of the patch pump device.